William and Sarah Bayford

The final couple who make up the great-great-grandparents of Lena Parry are William Bayford and Sarah Whisby, who lived in Anstey, a village in Hertfordshire, England.

Sarah Wisby was born at Nuthamstead, Hertfordshire in 1783. Her parents were Thomas Wisby and Sarah Chapman.   She was baptised at Barkway in January 1783, along with her twin brother William. William did not survive and was buried at Barkway a month after their baptism.

William Bayford was born in Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire in 1784.  He was baptised in February 1784. His parents were Ralph Bayford and Rachel Wooton.

William and Sarah were married in Anstey, Hertfordshire in June 1803.  They had five children born between 1803 and 1811, all baptised in Barkway or Anstey.

William and Sarah lived out their whole married life in Anstey. William worked as an agricultural labourer. Sarah would also have worked when possible, and the family would have supplemented their meagre income by growing some of their own vegetables and foraging from the fields and hedgerows. 

It is likely that William and Sarah had a minimal education, and they probably could not read or write. They had at least five children born between 1803 and 1811, but two died in childhood, including Thomas, their only son. That must have been a traumatic time for the family. Thomas, who was about 13 months old, was buried at Anstey on 22 May 1808. Seven days later, on 29 May, his sister, Sarah Jr was baptised at the same church. 

The remaining three daughters , Mary, Sarah Jr and Hannah, all married and lived in Anstey or Barkway. Sarah is the direct line on our family tree and will be subject of a future post.

Sarah died in 1861 aged 78.  William died the following year, also aged 78. 

Like the last three couples, William and Sarah lived out their lives very close to their birthplace. In fact the ancestry of all four couples can be traced to this one small area at the northern end of the Essex-Hertfordshire border. Their families would have lived in the same area for hundreds of years. I doubt they were descended from the indigenous people of the area, who would have been Celtic nomads. There were many waves of invasions from continental Europe, starting with the Roman invasion in 54 BC. This area of Hertfordshire and Essex was mostly settled in the Anglo-Saxon era.

This branch of the family are almost certainly Anglo-Saxon in origin, with possible Danish (Viking) and French (Norman) influences.